If You Learned It Then You Should Have Got an ‘A’ On It

We are plotzing from cuteness. Beyonce may have nabbed the awards for Single Ladies, but these kids at Milwaukee’s HOPE Christian Schools receive our gold star for ingenuity, creativity and a darn good idea for getting an important message out there.

Especially heartwarming is seeing the admins and faculty joining in on the number.

It all started at the annual HOPE Idol video contest in the fall, which is a very big deal at the school.

“Actually, there’s a lot of good-natured smack talk in the summer about the competition and what they’re planning to do,” says school spokesperson Wendy Greenfield.

And that’s just from the teachers. Sixth-grade teacher Megan Huff, a dancer herself, was the one who wrote the smartypants lyrics (“I get no detentions. Did I mention? Hard work is my intention.”) and choreography. A bow-tied Principal Patrick Hurley joined in by spontaneously mugging some nifty moves, “which is very typical of him,” adds Greenfield. “He’s a hilarious person. The kids love him.”

Lead singer, sixth-grader Jada Rogers, and her girls Charmaine Taylor, left, and Yasmuir Higgins, right, knocked it out of the park with their Jsetting, a la Sasha Fierce. Even the school’s director of operations, Paul Berger, and beloved food lady, Shirley Wood, got rhythmic cameos.

While the students had fun making the video, they have a bigger goal in mind. “They want to reach one million viewers,” says Greenfield. “They want to show kids that it’s cool to be smart and study.”

What is Greater Purpose?

We chose the name “Open Sky Education” for a reason. We believe that we all do better work when we’re looking up.

Looking up often leads to the discovery of a cause or context that is greater than yourself. One that inspires you to serve selflessly and leads to more fulfilling work.

We refer to this as “Greater Purpose.” It’s what inspires our work in the classroom, in the board room, and in communities we serve. With this perspective, we can be true serving leaders, advancing ideas that are bigger than us, for the benefit of others.